15 months

I forgot to add in the last post that Max had his 15 month check-up last week. Here's the latest:

Height: 34 inches
Weight: 24 pounds 13 oz
Head: 19 inches

He hated everything abut this appointment this time. The doctor was great about it and did the examination while Max was curled into a ball on my hip, squeezing the living daylights out of me. I think he's caught on to what the doctor's office is all about. Oh well. He has to go again in 3 months.

Last night we went to a friend's birthday party. Kids were welcome and there were several there. The birthday girl has a little dog, Olive, and Max instantly fell in love with her. Actually, all the kids did. There were four or five people that came up to me telling me that Max has no fear. It's so true. He will walk up to anything, anybody, thinking that is where he belongs. He loves to touch other kids (their heads mostly) and animals are just about the best things. He will talk to what ever it is at the time and tell them/it exactly what is on his mind.

Except at the doctor's office. Then he just screams.

Enjoying the weather

The rain has stopped (hopefully temporarily!) and it's been nice and sunny. We've been outside enjoying it everyday. Now that Max is walking (well, almost running at this point) he needs to get out and get his energy out. The nice weather is making that much easier. These pictures were taken a few days ago in our backyard. Max is playing where our garden was last year. (We still debating on whether or not we should start it up again this year, in case we move.) It sure doesn't take much to entertain this little boy. I moved the cooler to drain (we're still trying to figure out how the rainwater filled it up completely). He noticed the top opened and he kept himself busy by dropping pecans, one by one, into the bottom of the cooler. Occupied him for a looong time. Below is Max trying to feed Obi more pecans.


Last weekend Erik and Max went to the Boer's for a visit. The weather was beautiful and the kids were able to keep busy on their property. Erik said they took a great hike on Saturday, ate good food, and Max had fun exploring around the backyard. The last time he was there he wasn't walking, so this was a whole new experience for him.

They have a big sandbox in the backyard...Max LOVES the sand!!

As for me, I got the weekend "off". I saw three chick flicks, slept and basically enjoyed a clean, quiet house for two days. But, yes, I was ready for them to come home!

Messy Max

Calling Max messy is an understatement. I think it just comes with the territory.

In our house there is a gate between the laundry room/dog area and the rest of the house. Max loves standing at the gate and talking to the "Dah" (dog). He recently discovered he can throw things to the dog. This makes him really happy, so we let some things slide. We find toys, books, blocks, shoes, etc behind the gate. Obi has only chewed one ball and a puzzle piece. I think she has lost interest now, since none of it is real food. Anyway, he now throws...one by one... DISH TOWELS! YAY! And he's fast. The picture below was a few nights ago. This morning while I was prepping the crock pot meal he did it again. So yes, again, the clean towels are being washed. We had tomato soup a few nights ago. He LOVED it. He fed himself and landed himself another bath night.

I don't know why he did this but I'm glad I had the camera close...

He is also getting 4 more teeth. I've heard the canine teeth are the worst and they are here. He's been pulling at his bottom teeth for a while. Long nights and a lot of pain for this little guy. It seems his teeth come in 4's. So hopefully he will get a break. He has 16 teeth now! OUCH!

Max wants to share something...

YUP! Max is going to be a big brother! We found out a couple weeks before Christmas. I am due late August. The date sort of keeps changing, but as of now it's the 25th. Two days after my Dad's birthday and two days before Kirra's. Things are going well so far, as far as the baby goes. We haven't been able to hear the heartbeat yet, but we have seen it on the ultrasound screen a few times. Because of previous complications, the doctor watched me a little closer during the first few months. And he will again at the end, for fear (my fear) of delivering another 12 pound giant. Even though Max and I were healthy, it's still risky. He's 95% sure it will be a scheduled C-section.

As for me, I have been feeling pretty yucky. It's a completely different pregnancy from Max. I was only sick a handful of times with him. This time it's several times a day. I'm pretty sure I'm almost done with it, but it hits me randomly. Most of the nausea is gone, but I'm still vomi...well, you know. I'm getting headaches all the time. I'm very emotional, cry at everything...even stupid American Idol. But, in my defense, it IS sad that the one guy lost his young wife, and it IS sad that the one guy is blind, and it IS sad that the girls are so mean, and it IS sad when people don't make it....right? Yeah...things like that.

Aside from that we are very excited! We haven't decided if we will find out the gender. It's going to be a long summer. A long, HOT summer. Max knows there is a baby in mommy's belly. Well, knows to point to Mommy's belly when we ask where the baby is. The picture below is the one Erik put on his facebook page. It's funny because Max is covering his eyes like, "Oh no!".

Okay. There. It's out. Finally.

Happy Valentine's Day!

(and Happy Birthday Mom!)

Another park day...

I wanted to add I just made the BEST banana bread. Get the recipe here!

Park before Kick Off!

We decided to take Max to the park this morning before he was stuck inside the rest of the day watching football. Here are a few shots...

He loves going down the slide alone. He even scoots off the top by himself. I added this in because it shows one of his many goofball faces. He just does them. this kid is a crack up.

He loves the swings. When Max sees garbage cans he has to stop what he is doing to wave his hands and say "ugkhhh" over and over and over again. Until you say "Yes, Max, that's a garbage can." I'm guessing he learned that from me, trying to get him away from them. But, it doesn't necessarily keep him away. He can see them from a mile away too. It was cute the first few times. It's getting old now. He also saw a bunch of dogs, he does a similar move when he sees dogs too. He waves his hand, says "Dog", then pants like a pup. Every single time. Do you know how many dogs live in Vacaville? The only other animal noise he knows is a monkey. Now that is cute. Anyway, he can see a garbage can in the picture below.

Bad hair day? ha. I love the way he looks in the little swings.

Now we're at home getting ready for the Superbowl. Our friends, Jeff and Nicolle, are coming over. We have tons of crappy food to eat and are looking forward to a good time! And no, I could care less about the game or who wins. It's all about the commercials and the food!

My patient patient.

Erik had his surgery this morning and is doing great! Not much to say and no pictures. He is recovering nicely and is enjoying his pain meds. :) No cast, just a big bandage. Hopefully this will cure his issue, time will tell. We rented a bunch of movies and love that it's raining so we can all relax. Thanks Grandma Mills for playing with Max this morning while were were out!

Control your temper!

Here is Max reading us our mail...

And here is Max riding his "bike". Usually the bucket covers his whole head. This morning he walked to his toy buckets with his arms out feeling his way around, head completely covered.
He's getting a little more comfortable with walking. He can take about 6 steps now, and again, expects you to cheer afterwards.

I was talking to my Mom this morning and we decided he was a one year old stuck in a two year old body. With two year old mannerisms. And two year old tempers. I wish I could get one of his many temper tantrums on video. It can consist of banging his head against the floor, smacking himself (or you, depending on who is near) in the head, throwing his toys (including his big trucks), chasing after the toys he threw to throw them again...then coming to you for a cuddle.

When I was a little kid, my Dad said to me one day, "Juli, control your temper." Having 4 siblings hear that too meant I never heard the end of it. Ever. Now my kid has it. I was hoping he'd have Erik's (lack of a) temper. Nope. He's all me. Poor kid. Poor me. And waaaay Poor Erik.

Big A, little a, what begins with A...

Artichokes and Artwork! A...A...A!

It's been a while since we've updated the blog. It's also been a while since we've had the camera out too. But Max hasn't forgotten his modeling skills. We had artichokes for dinner a few nights ago and Max was eating them like a pro....until I got the camera out. It was really hard for him to see a camera and not smile, and just eat. So the eating was put on hold for a little bit so he could show off his monster teeth. (Notice the mayo on his cheek, he loved them!)


Last Friday night we took a trip to Napa and watched Kirra's basketball game. During the game Max was sitting on Kelly's lap and coloring with a pen. So that encouraged us to try it out at home with crayons. He thought it was pretty cool. This masterpiece took him about 20 minutes but he did use a variety of colors. He was really into putting he crayons back into the box, and dumping them out, and putting them back into the box, and dumping them out...you get the "picture".

As for everything else....

Erik is starting school again tomorrow. He had a nice winter break catching up on sleep and enjoying more than one day off a week. We found out on Tuesday he will be having surgery on his wrist. It's a worker's comp thing and has been receiving treatment for about a year or so, with little to no relief. So it's surgery time. It should be a quick outpatient procedure. But, will most likely involve a cast up to his elbow. And 6 weeks off work. (Help me!)

I have been working at my parents office for a couple months, part time. Just helping them out on a project. It makes me appreciate even more that I can stay home with Max. Working Mom's need way more credit then they get. The days that I am at the office are so much more difficult. It involves so much more planning; getting me and a baby ready to leave by 8, sometimes (like last night) not getting home until after 6pm. I'm glad it's just part time, and the extra cash flow is great. I don't know how Mom's do it 5 days a week. A big pat on the back for you! (Don't get me wrong though, staying home can be really sucky sometimes too. But I figure if you can do it in your pajamas, it can't be that bad, right?)

And Max. Where do I start. He's had a rough few weeks. He had a double ear infection and a bronchial infection. Which we think was causing all the throwing up and restless nights. He's much better now and the last three nights he has slept all night. Unfortunately those night's he has woken up SOAKED from his chin to his knees. There is always something, right? He is such a funny kid. He loves loves loves dogs and playing outside. The Kapele's got him a "bike" for his birthday and he scoots around on that thing like he was born to do it. I have pictures, but on my phone and I don't know how to transfer them yet. He has 4 molars now and I think two more are coming. OUCH!

We are still house hunting and looking at a few places. It's really odd to walk into a house and think, 'Could I make this my home?'. We had to ditch our first agent who turned out to be a total bonehead. We like our new lady and she seems really motivated to find us what we are looking for.

I think that's it for now. We hope you are all enjoying 2009...more to come...

Christmas 2008

Once again we had a really great Christmas. Last year we didn't do much because Max was just a few weeks old. This year (and from here on out) was totally different.

On Christmas Eve we went to Lubor and Ariane's house and had a great celebration. The kids all had fun and it was exciting to see them open their gifts. Lot's of good food, including a nice surprise. Lubor recently visited his family in the Czech Republic and was able to bring back some of his mother's famous cookies. Mmmmm...they were delicious!

Christmas morning came early and Erik and I woke up first, jumping around the living room asking each other when we should wake the kid up. Soon after, Max woke up on his own and walked out with smiles. He had fun opening gifts and playing with his new things. He enjoys ripping the paper off of the packages, with a little assistance. He helped us open things too.

Then he took a break. A short break. Max is the type of kid that does NOT want to miss things. He paused for a moment before returning to his busy schedule. Not letting go of his new favorite trucks.

After Christmas morning at home, we went to Napa to celebrate with the Mills. Ryan, Melissa and Addy were up visiting from San Diego. Here are Max and Addy getting a box ride from Kirra.


After presents and games, including decorating plates that my cousin Jennifer sent up for the kids to design, we ate! And ate. And ate.

The day after Christmas we went back to Napa and enjoyed a great hike at Skyline Park. It was really cold, but it felt great. Here is the crew eating lunch.

And us after lunch looking at Lake Marie. Thanks Kelly for taking all the pictures!

We spent New Year's Eve at the Kapele's house, with the Kaai family too. We had fun playing the Wii, playing Bingo, eating and laughing. Thanks for having us over. we left just before midnight and made it home to watch the ball drop. Max is a little night owl and fell asleep shortly after...then we could finally go to bed. New Year's sure has changed for us!!!

Happy 2009!